Tropic Storm
by MrQuinlansBloodDoll
Summary: In ancient Rome, Quintus is given a young woman by Senator Faustus. He has no idea what she is until he is forced to remove her collar and finds out that tropical storms are the worst when caused by her kind. Many years later, he meets her in New York on his mission to kill the master...
1. Chapter 1

Dark with the sound of the ocean waves, Quintus actually liked it here near the coast. At night, when he wasn't busy, he would stand on the elegant balcony and listen to the waves. Being on the water he wasn't very fond of, listening to it and watching it was a different story. Listening to it was relaxing, soothing, it made him calm.

Being a senator, Faustus was a very wealthy man. His home was big and overly fancy with more than enough room. His servants and slaves, both male and female, would always wear small amounts of clothing. At special events, most wore nothing more than gold chains and sandals.

Quintus had to admit, some of them were quite irresistible. He had a few encounters with several of them.

"Quintus, I have a gift for you."

Faustus Sertorius stood at the door of Quintus' personal room. He always came to talk to him in his spare time, mainly to educate him on what he was as well as to give him some sort of target to kill, innocent or not.

Now, here he was, standing in front of him with a wicked grin on his face. Nothing good ever came from that expression. Behind him he roughly pulled a young woman by her upper arm. She was wearing a simple, light blue silk dress and a fancy necklace tight around her neck. Her long brown hair had all been pulled up and held in a tight braided bun with a golden hair pin. The skin on her body was flawless and at the moment she looked miserable, dry tears on her cheeks.

But then he caught her scent and felt his stinger attempt to emerge. He growled softly and she heard, jerking her head up then trying to jerk her arm out of Faustus' bruising grip.

"It took me a while to find one. She's untouched and all yours."

"Untouched?"

"I made sure."

"That's not what..." He pushed her into the hybrid's arms, "You deserve her. Just don't remove her collar."

"You said it took you a while... To... Find one?"

"Yes, from my studies I've learned that her kind is delicious to yours. Try not to kill her, I will not be finding you another one."

Then he was gone, leaving the two alone.

Quintus looked down at the trembling young woman in his arms as she slowly, and fearfully, looked up at him. Fresh tears were in her eyes but they didn't fall.

Usually, he would drink the human's blood then let the others do whatever they wished with the body, male or female. But there was something different about this one.

He had said, 'find one.' Quintus assumed he possibly meant a virgin? A foreigner? Unsure, he just shook his head.

Her scent, she smelled amazingly wonderful. It was a form of insanity, with her being so close it was hell trying to control his urge to drink her. A human would never smell this good...

"What are you?"

Quintus led her to the bed where he had her sit down. He walked across the room and sat in a chair in an attempt to escape her mouth watering scent. He couldn't attack her, at least not until he figured her out.

It was obvious she was terrified, everyone was terrified of him. The necklace she wore, Faustus had said it was a collar but she didn't look like a slave. She had the posture of a high ranking noble as well as the beauty. There were no marks or scars anywhere on her body except for the recent bruises on her arm...

Quintus sighed, not liking the thought of a collared woman in his room. But there wasn't much he could do about it now.

She nervously pulled at a strand of hair that had fallen over a slender shoulder. Her rainbow eyes watched the floor under her bare feet. He took time to look over her again, to study her. She was petite, weak, gorgeous...

"Do you have a name?"

She did not answer.

"How old are you?"

Still, she did not answer.

Quintus felt anger rise in his chest and he gripped her chin with his hand, forcing her to look up at him, "Answer me."

Her eyes, her multicolored eyes, were wide and still full of tears when he looked down at her. She shook her head out of his hand and went back to watching the floor.

But, of course she would look away from him. Most women did, with the exception of the ones in the brothels.

Going to a brothel, that didn't sound like a bad idea at the moment. Sex and orgies were one way to drink blood without being questioned, the feeling of being uncomfortable and gross from the contact came later after he was alone again.

Without another word, he stormed out.


	2. Chapter 2

She knew she should've stayed home, but she loved the atmosphere and the feel of the air when a storm was forming.

There were no ships in sight, she was sure of it. Maybe she was so caught up in the feeling of the storm to sense the group of men that so easily crept up on her.

Apparently, they had spent several weeks searching but realized the best chance of catching one of her kind was during or right before a storm.

Now, here she was in a palace full of half naked slaves, perverted men and women, and a vampire... But he didn't smell like a full blooded vampire... Perhaps he was a hybrid. He was beautiful but terrifying.

She was horrified by everyone here, there was no way she was leaving this room. Fatigue was starting to wash over her but she was afraid to sleep. Her rainbow eyes glanced around the room and saw a lone, folded up blanket that looked as if it had been sitting on the table for a while. She took it and curled up in the corner of the room between the bed and the wall. Sleep came quick after she finally managed to feel safe and knew nothing would sneak up behind her.

'I want to go home...'

...

Quintus somewhat dodged the light of the setting sun that spilled through the doors and windows. Blood covered his tunic and armor he was wearing. He had been gone for a good while, a few days, the girl was probably gone by now. He almost hoped she had escaped somehow.

Upon opening the door, he didn't see her until his eyes caught a balled up figure in the corner of the room on the other side of the bed.

The female looked so defeated and seemed a bit pale. Quintus approached her and saw her eyes closed, she was in a deep sleep. His fingers brushed against her cheek and felt she was freezing. A small wave of sympathy fell over him, making him pick her up and carry her to the bed. The woman was as light as a feather, he wasn't surprised by how cool her skin was. The thick blankets were pulled over her and he pulled the curtain closed to hide the sun.

When she woke up, she felt she was in a bed. The first thing she checked was her dress, it was still there. She didn't ache in any areas so she hadn't been touched. The vampire from before was in the darkest part of the room, sharpening his weapons.

He hadn't tried to drink her yet. Most vampires would have drained her of every single drop of blood she had by now. Why was he keeping her alive?

Curiosity overtook her. With slow steps she made her way closer to him. He must have sensed her because he stopped all movement once she was about two feet away from him, he turned, slowly. The hybrid saw the curiosity in her eyes and was still, letting her study him. Confusion crossed her face, eyes looking him over, head turning slightly to the side. He seemed more human than strigoi, he had to be a hybrid! That was the only excuse...

Quintus slowly held his hand out to her, palm facing up. He didn't mean her any harm, maybe she would sense that if he kept his movements slow. Slowly, the female reached up and took it in both of hers. He was strong, she could see that, and he seemed cautious. His pale fingers were long, the middle finger was the longest. Right now he didn't seem so scary. He actually seemed rather... Gentle? That couldn't be right. She was an expert at reading people, maybe being on land for so many days and nights was starting to effect her judgement...

The hybrid looked her over and inhaled, her scent smelling of ocean air and tropical flowers. It was intoxicating but he was able to stand being close to her now, having fed recently. For the moment she looked somewhat at ease, cautious but mostly relaxed...

Until Faustus opened the door and walked into the room. She stumbled backwards and jumped behind Quintus in a failed effort to hide.

"The party is just getting started, will you be joining us, Quintus?"

"No."

Faustus frowned, "I shall have someone bring your new plaything some food. If you have second thoughts, you know where to find all of us."

Quintus tossed his sword down onto the table, "I'm not interested in your filth, nor your group activities."

"As always. I'll send someone to take care of your needs later." Then he was gone before the hybrid could protest.

Quintus turned and saw the petite woman peeking out from behind him.

"No need to hide anymore."

She sighed with a hand over her chest then turned around. A gentle knock on the door caught her attention and she hid behind the curtain covering the entryway to the balcony area of the room.

A woman walked in with a fancy serving plate, wearing next to nothing. She looked around the room then looked to Quintus, questioningly.

"Hiding."

The woman nodded before sitting the food down on the table and leaving with a quick bow to the hybrid.

On the plate was bread, cheese and fruits with peacock tongues and a glass of wine beside of it.

The brown haired woman stepped back in a sniffed the air before looking down then back outside behind the curtain. A sigh left her lips, the curtain closing behind her when she walked to the corner of the room and pulled her knees to her chest.

He could feel her sadness, it was to strong. He knew he could see what was wrong and how to help her if he were to taste her blood but he couldn't bring himself to do such a thing to her. Her skinny hands reached up to the collar around her neck and she burst into tears.

Then he felt that she was in pain, physical and emotional pain.

Quintus was unsure of what to do. Crying women wasn't something he dealt with on a daily basis, after all. But for some reason he felt he needed to try, her cries were so heartbreaking and pitiful.

He knelled down in front of her and reached out a hand, only to pause. He wasn't good at comforting others. His hand rested on her hair and she looked up at him. Little sniffles and sobs came from her, pitiful sounds he had to stop. He felt her tensing was only taking the pain worse, though he knew not why. She would not speak, she wouldn't tell him what was wrong. He could only guess.

Patting her hair seemed to calm her down. Eventually she relaxed and fell asleep against the wall under his touches.

All his life he had horrible luck. This girl had to be part of that considering her scent gave him a strong hunger for more than just her blood. Now, looking down at her, he could tell she wasn't human. Her teeth, the canines were sharper than the mortals and her skin had a slight glittering shimmer in the moonlight. Never before had he ever seen anyone or anything with rainbow eyes like hers.

But what was she?

She couldn't be a hybrid such as he was. He didn't believe in the gods or goddesses that the others so obsessively believed in, nor did he believe in any kind of demigods.

Perhaps she was just from a far away land, Faustus had been gone for a long time, long enough to travel a long ways away...

"What are you?" He asked in a hushed whisper, gently picking her up to place her on the bed, "Talk to me, please..."


	3. Chapter 3

Days went by and she still didn't speak, nor did she eat, bathe, or sleep. Skinnier now, she was getting sick. Her eyes were losing their lively glow and the color was changing from rainbow to pure gray. She wouldn't even get up to hide when Faustus came into the room, only sit and stare out over the ocean with no expression at all.

She was dying. Quintus could sense her body was slowly shutting down and he couldn't think of anything to do to help. He started finding gemstones on the bed and floor, all of them blue in color. He could not figure out where they were coming from.

Eventually, it was as if she were in a trance, unmoving and gazing out in the direction of the ocean although it was as if she weren't actually seeing anything at all.

Until one day, help finally came...

One of the younger servant women walked in with silk blankets. Though, the blankets were dropped and a shocked gasp was heard from her after she stepped through the door.

Quintus turned to see her running to the woman on the bed who sat staring out at the ocean through the open curtains.

"A daughter of Neptune?! Here?!" The servant woman ran to her and dropped to her knees before her, "Why are you here, dear goddess?!"

Needless to say, Quintus was confused. What had she called her? A daughter of Neptune?

"Faustus gave her to me. Though, I do not know why."

"She is dying! Have you been drinking from her?"

"No... Do you know how to help her?"

"Not without receiving punishment for it..." She gently touched the woman's hand, "Although, I think I can try to perk her up a bit."

The servant picked up the blankets and sat them on the bed before running out of the room. Quintus noticed his woman was still sitting in the same position she had been in for the past few hours, staring out at the sea.

"I can't get you what you need if you do not tell me." He said, placing gentle touches on her hair.

Still, she did not move or even acknowledge his touch.

Thankfully, about an hour later, the young servant came sprinting in with a plate. On it was neatly folded seaweed and different types of cut up fish, several kinds of shell fish were lined up in a fancy design around the edges of the dish. A large cup of water was on the side. It was placed in front of her and she slowly looked down at it. To Quintus' surprise, her eyes shifted towards the food then she slowly reached down and picked up a small piece of seaweed. She ate it and he felt relief. He was growing attached even though he knew nothing about her. She was finally eating which meant she was going get better, right?

"Thank the gods! But this collar is going to ensure her death if it is not taken off." The servant said, handing Quintus a book, "Try to help her if you can, sir! Neptune will surely smile upon you!"

She gave a bow and left. Quintus looked down at the book in his hand and saw it was thick and rather heavy. The cover was framed in seashells and pearls with some netting on the inside.

He opened it and saw where she had bookmarked a page. The title caught him off guard.

"Mermaids?"

He rolled his red eyes but decided to read the page and took in the information in an attempt to have an open mind.

'Very rare, Merfolk exist in the tropical areas of the many oceans. They are identified by having the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish. Merfolk have been known to have abilities to cure diseases and share their immortality. Members of the Triton family line are able to control weather as well as the sea itself. Their abilities to transform and use their abilities can be halted by the use of certain bangles and collars.

A mermaid needs to be in the sea on the nights of a full moon. If unable to transform, they will remain in their human form and live and a mortal for the rest of their lives.

Catching sight of a mermaid in certain parts of the sea can be a bad omen for mortals. Carrying the tears of a mermaid will protect the holder from a horrible fate. Mermaid tears crystallize into stones called 'Aquamarine' and are carried mostly by sailors.

Mermaids and mermen tend to eat sea vegetables and fish. Their favorite are usually shellfish.'

Quintus looked up from the book and watched the woman in front of him as she suckled gently on one of the smaller opened oysters from the plate. She was still gazing out at the ocean and he had to admit, she was adorable at that moment.

He turned a few pages in the book.

'The merfolk were forced to take refuge deep in the oceans after their entire race was almost wiped out by a land-walking race known as the 'strigoi.'

Quintus felt a pain in his chest but kept reading.

'A strigoi is unable to resist the scent and blood of the mer. Older, smarter strigoi learned of ways to capture merfolk and keep them as blood-slaves.'

He put the book down on the table. That explained a lot, how she smelled amazing to him but he could not bring himself to drink from her.

There was time until the next full moon so he had plenty of time to figure out how to get the collar off of her neck. He approached her while she suckled on another oyster, her eyes watching him now as she was alert once again. He slowly reached out and pulled at the collar. She winced and he saw the spikes on the inside, stabbing into the skin.

The door opened again and the servant woman from before was accompanied by another. The new one gasped and fell to her knees, speaking in a language he did not understand. After praying and standing back up, the two women had a box and started working at the "sea maiden's" hair which was still tied up in a tight bun.

"They do not like for their hair to be up, Neptune's daughter's always have their hair down decorated with netting, seashells and pearls..." She took out the hair accessories and the woman's hair fell down, long enough to reach the floor as it spilled over the bed, "The daughter's who descend from the warrior bloodlines tend to keep their hair in lose braids. But by your eye color, you are from the Triton family?"

A nod was received. Quintus widened his eyes as this was the first response of any kind they had managed to get from her in a while. Still, she never spoke.

After her long brown hair was brushed, he saw several blue streaks mixed in with the brown. The woman started braiding a strand of her own hair after the two servants were done brushing it, gladly taking the seashells from the two women with a smile as they were offered to her. Several strains in the braids were woven through the natural holes in the shells. The servant Quintus was able to understand took one braid and positioned it around her forehead like one would a circlet or a crown, pinning it back with another shell so it would stay in place.

The women looked over the collar on her neck and couldn't find a way to take it off without hurting her. Eventually they left after they made sure she felt better and looked like she should.

"I can't promise you anything," Quintus walked over to her and sat down in front of her, "But I'm going to find a way to get this off and I'm sending you back to where you came from."

Her eyes looked up at him, no more were they gray but had gone back to their rainbow color from before.

"It might take a while, but I'm going to get that thing out from around your neck."

With a smile, she leaned forward and hugged him. He noticed he was used to her scent now, he didn't want to rip her neck out anymore from it. He wrapped his arms around her, awkwardly. She cuddled into his chest and looked up into his eyes.

"Marina."

Did she actually speak?

"What?"

"My name is Marina."

Her voice was beautiful but strained, he assumed it was from the collar. Still, he was unsure he actually believed the whole mermaid thing. Other 'gods' and 'goddesses' would always end up being rich mortals. Another words, he'd have to see it to believe it.


End file.
